Naira Stabilizes Across Forex Markets As BDCs Get Over $450m Allocation From CBN In 1 Month

The Naira remained stable against the dollar at the I&E window on Tuesday, closing at N386/$1

Nigeria’s exchange rate at the NAFEX window remained stable against the dollar to close at N386/$1 during intraday trading on Tuesday, October 6

Also, the naira maintained stability against the dollar, closing at N458/$1 at the parallel market on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, as the CBN sells over $450 million to Bureau De Change Operators within the last 1 month.

Parallel market: At the black market where forex is traded unofficially, the Naira remained stable against the dollar to close at N458/$1 on Tuesday, according to information from Abokifx, a prominent FX tracking website. This was the same rate that it was exchanged for on Monday, October 5.

Current developments

The local currency has strengthened by about 7.8% within the last one week at the black market, as the CBN introduced some measures targeted at exporters and importers, in order to try to boost the supply of dollars in the foreign exchange market, and reduce the high demand for forex by traders.
The CBN has sold over $450 million to BDCs since the resumed forex sales on Monday, September 7, 2020. This was expected to inject more liquidity to the retail end of the foreign exchange market and discourage hoarding and speculation.
However, the exchange rate against the dollar has failed to sustain the initial gains made, after the CBN announced plans to provide liquidity.
BDC operators have urged the apex bank to reconsider the margin allowed for the currency traders, as it was inadequate to meet their expenses.
We also noted that forex traders monitored during the previous week, appeared to hoard forex, as they anticipated further depreciation in the market.
There has been a drop in speculative buying of foreign exchange, although demand backlog by manufacturers and foreign investors still puts pressure, and creates a volatile situation in the foreign exchange market.

NAFEX: The Naira remained stable against the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Tuesday, closing at N386/$1.

This was the same rate that it exchanged for on Monday, October 5.
The opening indicative rate was N386.42 to a dollar on Tuesday. This represents a 11 kobo gain when compared to the N386.53 that was recorded on Monday.
The N393.01 to a dollar is the highest rate during intraday trading before closing at N386. It also sold for as low as N384/$1 during intraday trading
Forex turnover: Forex turnover at the Investor and Exporters (I&E) window, increased by 60.7% on Tuesday, October 6, 2020

According to the data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover rose from $36.24 million on Monday, October 5, 2020, to $58.24 million on Tuesday, October 6, 2020
The CBN had in the past few weeks moved to clear the huge backlog of foreign exchange demand, especially by foreign investors wishing to repatriate back their funds.
The drop in forex supply reinforces the volatility of the foreign exchange market. The supply of dollars has been on a decline for months due to l ow oil prices and the absence of foreign capital inflow into the country.
The average daily forex sale for last week was about $169.93 million, which represents a huge increase from the $34.5 million that was recorded the previous week.
Total forex trading at the NAFEX window in the month of August was about $857 million, compared to $937 million in July.

The Central Bank of Nigeria in its latest Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trad e and Exchange Policy Guideline for fiscal years 2020/2021, projected that Nigeria’s external reserve is expected to be between $29.9 billion and $34.3 billi on due to declining oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

– Nairametrics